Anthony Joshua news LIVE: AJ and Robert Helenius weigh in ahead of heavyweight fight
Joshua will fight Helenius, who steps in on short notice, after Whyte’s ‘adverse finding’ in a drug test
Anthony Joshua will fight Robert Helenius on Saturday, after original opponent Dillian Whyte returned an ‘adverse finding’ in a drug test last week.
Joshua vs Whyte 2 would have been a rematch eight years in the making, with “AJ” having knocked out his fellow Briton in 2015 to avenge an amateur defeat by Whyte. However, Saturday’s rematch at the O2 Arena in London fell through when Whyte, 35, failed a doping test last week. Whyte has maintained his innocence, while it was initially unclear whether Joshua, 33, would still compete on Saturday. But his promoter Eddie Hearn then teased an announcement on Tuesday (8 August), with fans learning that Helenius will replace Whyte.
Helenius, 39, is a Finnish heavyweight who appeared to retire in October after being knocked out by Deontay Wilder in the first round. However, he returned just last weekend with a TKO win over Mika Mielonen. Meanwhile, Joshua – a former two-time world heavyweight champion – last boxed in April, beating Jermaine Franklin on points at the O2 to bounce back from two straight losses to Oleksandr Usyk. Follow live updates below.
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Joshua vs Helenius press conference LIVE
Markus Sundman, Helenius’s manager, got a call about his fighter replacing Whyte on Saturday – the very night that Helenius beat Mika Mielonen in the third round.
Simon Jordan reveals cancer diagnosis live on radio
Eddie Hearn and Simon Jordan went head to head on talkSport again yesterday, with things getting pretty heated.
However, Hearn did wish Jordan all the best after the presenter revealed he is recovering from prostate cancer.
Simon Jordan reveals cancer diagnosis live on radio
British businessman Simon Jordan has revealed he has undergone life-saving surgery after he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Jordan, 55, revealed the news live on talkSport radio on Tuesday morning, where he admitted he had been “in the wars a little bit”. Jordan revealed he underwent surgery two weeks ago and is now recovering. He said: “If I hadn’t had this surgery, I wouldn’t be here.” He also urged men aged 30 upwards to make sure they get tested for the disease, having had no symptoms himself.
Anthony Joshua vs Robert Helenius press conference
The press conference is running behind schedule, as these things tend to. Indy Sport has just come out of an interview with Anthony Joshua, and he seems to have another before the press conference starts!
It’s time to stop taking Anthony Joshua for granted
From our comment piece on Joshua vs Helenius today:
“Eddie Hearn, too, deserves credit for negotiating this messy episode as best as possible. He has quickly found a decent opponent for Joshua, while avoiding the mistakes he made in the fallout of Conor Benn’s failed drug tests last year.
“‘The tests, the results, the substances were very different,’ Hearn said on talkSport on Tuesday morning, comparing the collapse of Benn’s bout with Chris Eubank Jr in October and Whyte’s failed test this week.
“Hearn does not represent Whyte in the way that he does Benn, but nonetheless is trying to learn from the saga of the last 10 months.”
Full article here:
It’s time to stop taking Anthony Joshua for granted
‘AJ’ will box Robert Helenius on a week’s notice, after Dillian Whyte returned an adverse drug-test finding
Anthony Joshua to fight Robert Helenius on short notice
The Independent is in place at the pre-fight press conference in London. The undercard fighters are speaking at the moment, but Joshua and Helenius are due on stage at 1.30pm BST.
Anthony Joshua to fight Robert Helenius on short notice
Here’s a look back at what a tearful Deontay Wilder said after knocking out Robert Helenius in October:
“Yeah, it’s a great knockout, it’s devastating, making history and stuff like that, but how much is that man gonna suffer?
“He may be alright right now – a little bit – but what about the next day? What about two weeks from now? What about a month from now? Maybe years from now?
“We’ve seen what happened, look at [Prichard] Colon. This man ain’t have no kids...” Wilder said, referencing his compatriot and fellow boxer who suffered a brain injury in a 2015 fight, before trailing off in tears.
“Y’all don’t f***ing understand what we go through, man.”
More here:
Deontay Wilder gives tearful press conference after Robert Helenius KO
The American broke down while discussing fellow boxer Prichard Colon, who suffered a brain injury in the ring in 2015
Speaking of replacement opponents...
Is Michael Chandler being replaced by Justin Gaethje as Conor McGregor’s next opponent?
This is what UFC president Dana White had to say:
Dana White offers update on Conor McGregor opponent amid Justin Gaethje feud
McGregor has gone back and forth with Gaethje since the latter’s knockout of Dustin Poirier in July
More major fight news...
Across the combat-sports pond, Israel Adesanya’s next title defence has been confirmed; the UFC middleweight champion will defend his belt against the controversial Sean Strickland in Sydney next month.
More here:
Israel Adesanya to defend UFC title against controversial contender
Strickland will challenge for the middleweight belt in Sydney in September
It’s time to stop taking Anthony Joshua for granted
While the other heavyweights deal with their respective messes, and while Eddie Hearn is tasked with cleaning up what he can, Anthony Joshua has kept things remarkably simple.
Upon learning of Dillian Whyte’s failed test, he reportedly texted Hearn: “I can only imagine the time and effort you and your team have put into organising a fight night. Just to say, sorry about the news. Thank you for all you and Matchroom do for me, it’s appreciated and I never take it for granted.”
Maybe we should stop taking Joshua for granted.
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It’s time to stop taking Anthony Joshua for granted
‘AJ’ will box Robert Helenius on a week’s notice, after Dillian Whyte returned an adverse drug-test finding
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